• Astronomy Question: Do You Know Your Spaceships?

    Multiple Choice: What was the name of the main spaceship in the 1979 movie Alien? A. AthenaB. MaginotC. NostromoD. Prometheus Take a guess and then check your answer by going to the “Astronomy Question Answer Sheet” page.

  • Pic of the Week: Spiral Galaxy NGC 3137

    This week’s image is from the Hubble Space Telescope. It shows spiral galaxy NGC 3137 in all its glory. We are getting a nice inclined view of the galaxy, allowing us to see multiple arms of stars. The European Space Agency (ESA) describes what we are seeing in this way: A spiral galaxy seen close…

  • Television: Star City

    We are only one month away from the premiere of Apple TV’s Star City. Premiering on May 29th, the series is a spin-off from For All Mankind, which is an alternative history showing the race to the Moon and then Mars among the Americans, Soviet, and North Koreans. Star City will focus on the Soviet…

  • A Day in Astronomy: Launch of the Galex Space Telescope

    On this day in 2003, NASA air-launched the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) via a Pegasus launch vehicle. It was an active orbiting space telescope for the next nine years, observing the universe in ultraviolet wavelengths to learn more about star formation in the universe. Some of the highlights of the GALEX mission include:

  • Space Stories: Rocket Lab Launched Japanese Satellites, Progress 95 Cargo Arrives at ISS, and Interstellar Comet Contains Surprises

    Here are some recent space-related stories. —Rocket Lab: “Rocket Lab Completes Second Dedicated Launch for Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)“ The “Kakushin Rising” mission lifted off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 3:09 p.m. NZT to successfully deploy eight spacecraft for JAXA’s Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program that included educational small sats,…

  • Study Findings: A Second Visit to Eps Ind Ab with JWST: New Photometry Confirms Ammonia and Suggests Thick Clouds in the Exoplanet Atmosphere of the Closest Super-Jupiter

    The Astrophysical Journal Letters abstract of study findings: With JWST, we are directly imaging cold (∼200–300 K) solar-age giant exoplanets for the first time. At these temperatures, many molecular features appear, and water-ice clouds may condense and affect the emission spectrum; early photometric measurements of cold giant planets are already showing some tension with the predictions of…

  • Audit Report: Will the Artemis Astronauts Have Spacesuits?

    A new audit report from NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) expressed some concerns about whether the contractor, Axiom Space, will have spacesuits ready in time for the planned lunar landing. The audit report, NASA’s Acquisition of Next-Generation Spacesuit Services, states: NASA faces challenges in ensuring next-generation spacesuits are available to meet the Agency’s current…

  • Sci-Fi Quote: To Titan and Beyond

    “I think the promise of the show was always that we were going to go beyond just the moon and Mars. I think that’s kind of what I think Titan represents. It’s one of those steps we’ve been looking to make from the very beginning. I will say you’ll see more of it. I don’t…

  • Pic of the Week: Hubble and the Crab Nebula

    This week’s image is from the Hubble Space Telescope. It is an image of the Crab Nebula taken 25 years after the Hubble’s first image of the nebula. If you want to learn more about this history, a paper titled The Crab Nebula Revisited Using HST/WFC3 can be found in The Astrophysical Journal. Here is…

  • Happy Earth Day!

    Note: Go here for more Earth Day images from NASA.